A capacity audience at GIA listened with rapt attention
as "Pearl Goddess" Betty Sue King revealed the magnificence of exotic pearls
during her presentation March 20. King's address, Pearls, kicked
off the 2003 lecture series hosted by the GIA Museum. This year's series, "Color
Perspectives," is dedicated to color in gems, and King's lecture was the
first in four to be presented.

King, a pearl industry specialist who has owned a pearl
wholesaling business for 24 years, took the audience on an enchanting odyssey
of pearls. She defined the role that pearls have played throughout history,
and discussed their lore, sources, formation, and how they are brought
to the market.

In opening the lecture, King said, "I will explain how
pearls evolved from simple objects of admiration to a prized and revered
part of human culture and adornment." King said that natural pearls were
originally discovered around a million years ago, and at that time were
appreciated for their beauty alone.

Later, pearls evolved into symbolic figures, and were
presented as evocative gifts dating as far back as 2206 B.C. during the
time of Confucius. King depicted the myth of the Polynesian God Oro (God
of peace and fertility), who, it is said, came to earth on a rainbow to
offer a pearl as a symbol of love to the princess of Bora Bora. King also
referred to the Roman and Greek legends of Venus/Aphrodite (Goddess of
love, beauty and pleasure), who came out of the sea with water droplets
turning into pearls, holding all the "charms" of the love goddess.

Pearls developed into ecclesiastical eminence, and later
were popularized by prominent monarchs. King presented images of a 16thcentury
Russian icon of Madonna and Child lavished with pearls. King said Queen
Elizabeth I was the most avid pearl lover in history, and she showed the "Fairy
Queen Portrait," (1550s - 1603) depicting the queen adorned in one of her
300 gowns that were laden, set, and sewn with natural pearls. "More than
simple objects of beauty, she considered pearls indispensable to her appearance
of regal strength," said King.

By the early 1900s the worldwide demand for natural pearls
exceeded the supply, leading to the development of cultured pearls by Kokichi
Mikimoto. King said the industry reacted with staunch resistance at first.

King displayed a delightful collection of pearls
during her lecture.

In the 1930's, designer Coco Chanel paved the way for
the wide acceptance of cultured pearls. King said, "She often wore them
like costume jewelry, mixing them without any thought to whether they were
faux, natural or cultured. Thanks to Chanel, the pearl strand has defined
classic women's fashion." It wasn't until 1955 when Tiffany & Co. acquiesced
to this growing demand. Others like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor
also often dressed in sumptuous pearls.

Since then, cultured pearls have gained exceptionally
wide fondness. In the 1980s great strides were made in the production of
larger numbers of cultured pearls from China, said King. She emphasized
the recent improvements in the quality and size of Chinese freshwater cultured
pearls, and pointed out the rich color variations offered in today's market. "China's
prolific production added to the variety," King said.

She illustrated how pearls are cultured, processed, bleached,
colored, and valued. Major varieties of cultured pearls were explained - including
Chinese freshwater, akoya, South Sea and Tahitian. "To understand the value
of pearls is to appreciate the path of their production and have the skilled
eye to judge their qualities," she said. "Pearls are universally valued
for their symmetry, size, shape, luster, and surface quality, but the cost
of production varies greatly from the saltwater pearls of Australia to
the abundant freshwater cultured pearls of China."

The audience was enraptured with King's exotic and
colorful pearl strands.

"No matter what their origin - Tahiti, Japan, China, Philippines,
Indonesia, Australia, the Americas and other places - a beautiful pearl
is a treasure in every culture and in any language," added King.

"Betty Sue gave an enlightening and informative presentation
on her true love - pearls," said Elise Misiorowski, GIA's museum director. "What
a delight that she could share her passion with us."

Misiorowski, also an authority in historic jewelry, will
present the next lecture in the series on historical jewelry May 14. The
entry fee is $10 per lecture, and the series is open to the public on a
space-available basis. Seating is limited. To add your name to the lecture
series mailing list, call 800-421-7250, ext. 4169.

April 3, 2003

GIA 2003 Lecture Series Kicks Off With
'Pearls'

By Victoria Gomelsky

FEBRUARY 25, 2003 - CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The Gemological Institute of America
(GIA) will launch its 2003 lecture series on March 20 with a 7:30 p.m.
presentation called "Pearls," hosted by the GIA Museum and presented
by pearl industry specialist Betty Sue King.